DOGE Teenagers with no security clearance given access to secure data

Is anybody paying attention? WTH is going on in DC?

One of Musk's Key DC Lieutenants Is a Teenager

Elon Musk continues to take what Axios describes as a "wrecking ball" to the federal bureaucracy, with the US Agency for International Development now on the chopping block. In recent days, Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency also gained access to a sensitive system that controls federal payments. While the moves are part of Musk's long-stated promise to slash government spending on behalf of President Trump, what may be surprising to many is the team of young engineers assisting Musk. From an investigation at Wired:

The outlet "has identified six young men—all apparently between the ages of 19 and 24, according to public databases, their online presences, and other records—who have little to no government experience and are now playing critical roles in Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency ..." They hold what the magazine calls "nebulous" job titles at DOGE such as "expert," and at least one appears to still be in college.

"What we're seeing is unprecedented in that you have these actors who are not really public officials gaining access to the most sensitive data in government," Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, tells Wired. "We really have very little eyes on what's going on. Congress has no ability to really intervene and monitor what's happening because these aren't really accountable public officials. So this feels like a hostile takeover of the machinery of governments by the richest man in the world." The full Wired story details the six, including Edward Coristine, who appears to be a recent high school graduate, and Luke Farritor, who made headlines in 2023.

 

think Musk might like to see the tax records of all of his competetors?

Here is the base story by Wired. SPin away, there is no excuse for this and laws are being broken under some sort of claim of executive authority that doesn't exist.
The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk’s Government Takeover | WIRED

The six men are one part of the broader project of Musk allies assuming key government positions. Already, Musk’s lackeys—including more senior staff from xAI, Tesla, and the Boring Company—have taken control of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and General Services Administration (GSA), and have gained access to the Treasury Department’s payment system, potentially allowing him access to a vast range of sensitive information about tens of millions of citizens, businesses, and more. On Sunday, CNN reported that DOGE personnel attempted to improperly access classified information and security systems at the US Agency for International Development and that top USAID security officials who thwarted the attempt were subsequently put on leave. The Associated Press reported that DOGE personnel had indeed accessed classified material.
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“To the extent these individuals are exercising what would otherwise be relatively significant managerial control over two very large agencies that deal with very complex topics,” says Nick Bednar, a professor at University of Minnesota’s school of law, “it is very unlikely they have the expertise to understand either the law or the administrative needs that surround these agencies.”

Sources tell WIRED that Bobba, Coristine, Farritor, and Shaotran all currently have working GSA emails and A-suite level clearance at the GSA, which means that they work out of the agency’s top floor and have access to all physical spaces and IT systems, according a source with knowledge of the GSA’s clearance protocols. The source, who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity because they fear retaliation, says they worry that the new teams could bypass the regular security clearance protocols to access the agency’s sensitive compartmented information facility, as the Trump administration has already granted temporary security clearances to unvetted people.
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“This is consistent with the pattern of a lot of tech executives who have taken certain roles of the administration,” says Bednar. “This raises concerns about regulatory capture and whether these individuals may have preferences that don’t serve the American public or the federal government.”